ann12008 — Announcement

ESO’s Paranal Observatory Chosen as “Perfect Place” by Land Rover

19 January 2012

The site of ESO’s Paranal Observatory, home of the world’s most advanced optical instrument, the Very Large Telescope (VLT), was one of the selected locations for an ad campaign entitled “Perfect Places”, recently launched worldwide by the British car maker Land Rover. The campaign presents Land Rover vehicles shot in unique places around the globe.

The combination of state-of-the art technology, cutting-edge science, a stunning environment and impressive facilities makes ESO’s Paranal Observatory a unique place in the world for scientists, engineers and visitors alike. However, ESO’s site in Chile has recently drawn the attention of Land Rover as well, as being the perfect choice for “Perfect Places”, their new print and digital media ad campaign.

Apart from being the best place for ground-based optical astronomy due to the astronomical quality of the atmosphere — characterised by the number of clear nights and the stability of the atmosphere (also known as seeing) — the Atacama Desert is also a magnificent setting for landscape photos.

A professional photography crew spent three days at Paranal taking pictures for the Land Rover publicity campaign [1]. The final ads, released worldwide with the focus on Europe and the USA, show the four-wheel-drive Range Rover in front of the Paranal Residencia, with ESO’s telescopes in the background over the mountain.

Notes

[1] Regular operations at the observatory were not affected and special care was taken by the team not to disturb the environment around the observatory.